Nightmares
by Denaliyasha
Summary: Late night phone calls have Gibbs wondering... GAbby


Disclaimer: Non est mine.

A/N: My fluffy eagle muse bit me in the butt until I wrote this. GAbby, set post-Abby's dream that turned her off autopsy and post-Bete Noire, ok? Jenni, here's the GAbby stuff I promised. Sorry for the delay!

Nightmares 

The first time it happened, he didn't take much notice. Oh, sure, he noticed that he was being woken up at two in the morning, but it wasn't much of an issue. A muttered "Gibbs" into the receiver brought no response. Sinking back into his bed, he fell asleep again. Wrong number.

The second time it happened, he checked caller ID. He didn't recognize the number, so he thought no more of it. Even when it began to happen on a regular basis, he just put up with it. It was a minor annoyance, one he could live with. He just had to reach over, pick up the phone, say his name, then hang up again. No big deal.

Most people would have been surprised that he hadn't called the number and harassed whoever was on the other end. He simply didn't care enough to expend the energy. As far as he knew, he had no current stalkers who weren't in prison, so it wasn't a threat of any sort.

"Hey, Gibbs?"

He swiveled in his desk chair. "What's up, Abbs?"

"Can I ask a favor of you?" She looked apprehensive as she perched on the edge of his desk.

"What is it?"

"My car's dead and I need a ride to work tomorrow."

"Can't you get someone else to do it?"

Abby shook her head, black pigtails bouncing. "You live the closest to me. Please?" She clasped her hands, looking as innocent and angelic as it was possible for a goth to look.

"Fine. I don't know what time I'll be leaving, though." Gibbs made one last effort to get out of it. He just couldn't resist that face… not that he'd ever tell her that.

Abby pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "I thought of that." She grinned at the look on his face. "This is my home phone. Give me a call when you're ready to leave, and I'll be waiting outside." She bounced off, calling a thank you over her shoulder. Gibbs shook his head. How did he get himself into these situations?

It wasn't until the next morning that he even looked at the number he'd been given.

"What the…" Gibbs frowned down at the scrap of paper. Why the hell was Abby calling him late at night? He dialed the number, and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"I'll be there in five minutes."

"Good morning to you too, Gibbs. Sleep well?"

"Not really. Someone called me at four in the morning." Gibbs' voice was gruff.

Abby suddenly sounded embarrassed, exactly what Gibbs had intended. "Ok, well, I'll see you in five, then."

Once he had Abby in the seat next to him, Gibbs decided he needed to get to the heart of the matter. "Abby, would you care to explain why you have been calling me in the middle of the night at least twice a week for a month?" He glanced over at her. She was blushing hard.

"It's a nightmare, ok?" She sounded defensive.

"A nightmare? Then why call me?" Gibbs couldn't figure it out. For all his powers of observation, he wasn't great with relationships.

Abby didn't answer. Pausing for a stop sign, he sighed. "Abby, I'm not going to let up until you tell me."

"Fine." She squirmed uncomfortably. "You remember the dream I had, me on the autopsy table, that kept me from going into autopsy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, after Ari, I've still had the nightmare. But now it's you cut open on the table, ok? So I call just to make sure you're ok."

Gibbs wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She was calling to see if he was still alive?

"Then why do you hang up?"

"Because it's embarrassing, ok? I'm calling my boss in the middle of the night to make sure he's alive. That's not something I'm proud of, ok?"

"Hey, Abby?" He climbed out of the car. He opened Abby's door for her.

"Yeah?"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I don't care. Call all you need to." He smiled as he ushered her into the building. "Just one thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't hang up. You can talk to me if you need someone to talk to."

Abby smiled at him. "Thanks, Gibbs." She kissed him on the cheek and headed off to her lab.

A/N: This IS a one-shot, written for the express purpose of cheering up a friend. Review, please!


End file.
